Transcriptome analysis of male–female differences in prefrontal cortical development

Abstract

Human neuropsychiatric disorders that involve the prefrontal cortex show gender differences in age of onset, prevalence and symptomatology. Gender dimorphisms in human-brain development may include differential cortical expression of genes on both the sex chromosomes1, 2 and on the autosomes. Here we identify gender differences in gene expression during human cortical development that may illuminate the molecular basis of gender biases in vulnerability to brain disorders.